


Danger in Secrets

by SKRena



Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bella Swan Has a Twin, F/M, Past Drug Smuggling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-25
Updated: 2014-01-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 00:39:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1206421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SKRena/pseuds/SKRena
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isabella and Federica Swan move to the town of Forks expecting to finish high school in a boring manner. Little does Bella know, they're going to be thrown into a world beyond her understanding. A world filled with dangers and secrets, but more importantly love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Sight - Bella

My mother is saddened by the thought of letting us go, but she doesn't say anything. As we drive towards the airport, silence was out companion. She knows that it is best for all of us. She would finally be able to focus on something she wants.

My sister, Federica, sits behind me, looking displeased. She isn't happy about the move. I understand her displeasure, so I can't really say anything to her about it.

Moving meant giving up this gorgeous warm weather for a cold and wet climate. I also have to give up friends, which is actually only one person, and we were honestly never that close to begin with.

Federica on the other hand, has lost most than me. She is having a good year in sports, but now she has to give it up. I highly doubt that Forks High School would get anywhere with their sports, even with Federica. Plus, she has a lot of friends and is easily the most popular girl in our school. She is giving up her life basically.

'I'll be fine,' I hear my dear sweet twin say… no… I hear her think. That is the big secret between Rica and I. We can hear each other's thoughts. 'I'm more worried about your lack of friends.'

I roll my eyes. 'You might end up the one alone at this new school and I'll be the popular one,' I tease her.

'Hopefully,' I hear her reply after a while. 'I don't want to make friends in Forks.'

My sister, not want friends? There is no way. 'Why don't you want friends in Forks?'

'Same reason I stopped going to visit dad there. Everything about that town feels wrong to me.' Oh yes, I'd almost forgotten about that.

When Rica and I were fourteen, she had an episode. It was shortly after we'd first met the Blacks and some of their tribe. Rica hadn't been the nicest around them, but nothing bad had happened, at first. Jacob Black had gotten sick of her attitude and grabbed onto her arm. The next thing we knew, blood curdling screams filled the air and we found Rica passed out on the ground.

She wasn't the same after that. Rica didn't talk for a year and when she finally did start talking again, she didn't tell anyone what caused it. She pretended nothing happened and surrounded herself with friends.

My thoughts hit a wall when I realize the car has come to a stop. We are at the airport. My sister is already out of the car and grabbing her things. Quickly, I jump out of the car to do the same.

My mom laughs at me. It isn't a joyful laugh. It is a sad laugh. It's the type of laugh that breaks my heart, and the question to follow doesn't help. "Are you sure you guys want to do this?"

"We want to go," Rica and I answer at the same time.

My mom laughs in response and this time, it is genuine. "Tell Charlie I said hi."

"We will," Rica assures her.

"I'll see you soon," she promises. "You can come home whenever you want. I'll come right back as soon as you need me." She hates Forks, but I don't doubt that she'll come for us without a second thought.

She gives us each a bone breaking hug and then sends us on our way.

It's a four-hour flight from Phoenix to Seattle and another hour in a small plane up to Port Angeles. To top it all off, an hour drive to Forks. The flying is the easy part. The drive is going to be the challenge.

Don't get me wrong, Charlie is a really nice guy and is being extremely nice about the entire thing. He is probably just excited to have us live with him with some degree of permanence. He had already sorted out our transfers.

But it is going to be awkward, that I am certain of. Sure he is my father, but we don't know each other that well. We'd vacation together every summer for two weeks but that is it. There is no overly loving bon between us.

When we arrive in Port Angeles, it's raining. It is a perfect example of the dreary weather that I a expecting. I hava already said goodbye to sunshine and hello to rain.

Charlie is waiting for us with the cruiser. It isn't much of a surprise. Hell, I would have gambled on it. Charlie, the Police Chief to all the people of Forks. That's the reason we are going to need a car. Rica and I hate being driven around like criminals.

Charlie gives us both hugs as we stumbled off the plane.

"It's so good to see you guys," he says, smiling as he helps us with our luggage. "You two have changed much. How's Renée?"

"Mom's find and it's good to see you too Dad." We aren't allowed to call him Charlie to his face.

"I found a good car for you two, and it was cheap too," Charlie says as soon as we are strapped in. I get the backseat while Rica gets to sit up front.

'I bet it runs great,' Rica says mentally and I barely contain a laugh.

"What kind of car?" I ask suspiciously.

"It's a truck, a Chevy," he answers hesitantly as he watches our reactions.

"Where'd you get it?" Rica asks.

"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" La Push is the tiny Indian Reservation near Forks. It's also where the episode happened. Jacob was Billy Black's son.

"No," Rica answers. She is lying and we both know it, but Charlie doesn't need to know that. I can't believe he would ask that though. Doesn't he remember what had happened there?

"We used to fish together during the summer," Charlie says. We continue to pretend not to know who he is. Charlie looks slightly disappointed that we don't remember, but he doesn't push it. "He's in a wheelchair now," Charlie says when we don't respond. "He can't drive anymore, and he offered to sell me his truck cheap."

"What year is it?" I find myself asking.

"Billy's done a lot of work on it, so it's practically only a couple of years old."

'Question dodging,' I tell Rica and she stifles a giggle.

"When did he buy it?" Rica asks. I am afraid to know, but Rica is too curious.

"I believe he bought it in 84'," Charlie answers.

'That's not that bad,' I manage to comment.

'Just wait,' she replies. "Did he buy it new?" Rica asks Charlie.

"Well, no," he answers nervously. "I think it was new in the early sixties of late fifties at the earliest."

"Dad, what will happen if something on it breaks? I don't know anything about vehicles and we can't afford a mechanic to fix it." My concerns sound reasonable.

"Don't worry, Bella," Rica says. "If anything happens, I'll be able to fix it." She then turns her attention to Charlie and asks, "Exactly how much was it?" She is trying to dodge any questions I could have about her ability to fix vehicles.

"Well, I kind of already bought it for you. Consider it a homecoming gift." Wow, that's a big gift.

"You didn't need to do that," I tell him. We have enough to buy a car, so he didn't need to help.

"I just want you two to be happy," Charlie says as he avoided our gazes. He isn't good at expressing emotions.

"Thanks Dad," I say. The gift makes me slightly uncomfortable, but I will still accept it.

"It's a wonderful gift, Dad," Rica tells him.

Charlie shifts uncomfortably at our thanks. "Well, you're welcome." He is embarrassed.

Rica goes on to chat with Charlie about various things and I just stare out the window. Even though I hate this place, I have to admit it is beautiful. Giant trees covered with moss. The branches create a cover that barely allows light through. It's like a world within a world.

Eventually, we arrive at Charlie's house. It is a small two bedroom house that he'd bought in the early years of marriage with my mother. Those were the only days though.

Sitting on the side of the street is our new- well, new to me- truck. It's an incredibly faded red color, with big, rounded features and a bulbous cab. To my surprise, I love it! If it ran, I could definitely see myself driving it. Plus, it is one of those solid iron affairs, so it never gets damaged. It's the type you see at an accident, pain unscratched, surrounded by broken pieces of the car it'd hit.

"Dad," I say with a bit of hesitation, "I love it." My voice is almost a whisper, but he hears my message.

"I'm glad you like it," he says. I embarrassed him again.

It takes only one trip to get everything into my new room. I get the bedroom that faces over the front lawn. Rica is supposed to share the room with me, but she opts to take the basement. Charlie tries to stop her, but she insists, so he eventually gives in. Rica spends the better part of the night 'decorating' as she puts it.

I carefully snuck a peak and what I saw was a big shock. Rica had taken all the boxes out of the corners and had made a wall out of them. There's only a small opening to get into the room, but that's at the bottom of the stairs.

'Rica, what are you doing?' I ask her.

There is a long pause, like she wasn't expecting me to talk to her. 'I'm just making a place for myself.'

'Why do you need wall?' I close the door and start walking away. It was best I don't poke around anymore.

'They're for privacy, duh. I don't want people looking in on my activities.'

'I really don't think Charlie will ever come near the basement.'

'You're probably right, but I'm just being sure.'

'Weirdo,' I tease before entering the kitchen. 'So, you excited for school tomorrow?'

'Hell no! It'll be something to do, but that doesn't make it any less boring.'

'I'm sure it's boring for Miss I Skipped A Grade.'

'You're just jealous that I'll get out of here before you.'

'Guilty as charged,' I reply as Charlie walks into the kitchen where I'd been standing idly. His entrance effectively snaps me out of the conversation and back into reality. 'Hold on.'

"Hey," I say and Charlie looks at me curiously. "What's for supper?"

"Oh, umm, I'll fry up some hamburgers. That ok?" He looks at me hopefully.

"That's perfect."

'Tell Dad that I'll eat once I'm done cleaning,' Rica says. 'So don't wait up.'

"Rica is going to finish cleaning and she'll eat later, so we shouldn't wait up for her." It wis awkward trying to relay the message.

Charlie looks sad, but doesn't object. "Sure. You can run along and I'll call for you when they're ready."

I nod and head for the stairs.

'How disappointed was he?' Rica asks as I climbed the stairs.

'Crushed,' I answer. The image of Charlie's face appears in my mind and I focus on it.

'Wow, I better come down and eat then.'

'Ya think? Anyways, what are we going to do about the truck situation?'

'You can have the truck since I know that you like it. I'm going to buy myself a nice car after school tomorrow.'

'Don't burn through your money too fast,' I tease her as I sit down in bed.

'I will still have plenty of money left. I have more money than you think. Oh, remind me to deposit money into my bank account, so I'm not carrying all that money around in cash.'

'Quit bragging.' I roll my eyes at her. 'So, what type of car are you getting?'

'I'm buying one from a guy I know in Seattle. He's driving down with one of my friends to meet up after I get out of school.'

'You didn't answer my question,' I tell her. She is good at question dodging.

'It's red with white stripes. That's all I really know.'

'How are you going to buy it if you don't even know what it is?' I ask suspiciously.

'I know what it is,' she says defensively. 'I'm just not telling you what it is, because I want to surprise you.'

'Alright,' I say in defeat. Angering Rica wouldn't help at all.

We sit in silence for a while. Rica goes on cleaning and I sit in silent contemplation.

I dread school tomorrow. I am scared of not making any friends. I never had any real friends when I was in Phoenix. The closest person to me was Rica, but she is my sister, so I really couldn't count her as a friend. I actually did have one friend, Alexis, but we really only hung out together because we didn't want to be seen alone.

The thing I am most concerned about was the fact that I am pale. Normally, people from Phoenix are tan, which caused me to get picked on a lot. I was often made fun of for being so pale. I actually had Rica to thank that being made fun of wasn't worse. Rica had practically put me under her protection.

I'm sure that when people heard that they were having a student from Phoenix, they automatically expected a tan, blonde volleyball player, or they'd maybe expect a beautiful cheerleader. They would probably want someone that I was not, someone like my sister.

"The burgers are ready," Rica says suddenly. I look up and she is standing in the doorway.

"Oh, ok," I mumble as I get up. I follow Rica in silence down the stairs and into the kitchen.

She is the perfect me. We look the same, except for haircut, but she is better in every way. Rica has the brains, grace, and is funny. My grades are average. I have the grace of an alligator on roller-skates. Every time I make a joke, people just stare in confusion, except for Rica of course.

'Quit overthinking things,' Rica tells me as we sit down.

Charlie turns around with a plate of burgers and gives Rica a look of confusion. "Nice of you to join us," Charlie comments as he sets down the plate of food.

"I finished up early," Rica says smiling.

I roll my eyes. 'Liar,' I call her.

'I know, but he doesn't need to know that,' she retorts.

The rest of the meal consists of small talk. Charlie asks Rica a question and she answers. Then, she asks a question, Charlie answers, and then the process repeats.

Rica and Charlie have always been close, unlike Charlie and I. Charlie is never able to express emotions clearly and I have taken after him. Rica is the opposite. She is sunshine to darkness. She brings out the best in people. That's why she gets along with Charlie. She gives him the ability to show emotion and takes the awkwardness away.

After eating, I head back to my room and Rica goes back to her cleaning. Charlie probably goes back to watching TV.

Outside is full of fog and it practically smothers me. The lack of sky makes me feel like I'm in a cage.

Breakfast isn't much. Charlie wishes us good luck. I thank him, knowing his wishers are lost. Good luck tends to avoid me.

Charlie leaves before use and we just sit there in silence. The kitchen has dark paneled walls and bright yellow cabinets. Nothing has changed since my mother left. Their wedding photos and photos of the four of us still sit above the fireplace.

"He never got over mom," Rica says, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It's sad," I reply.

Rica nods in reply and stands. "Let's go."

I follow her out of the house. She takes the passenger seat, so I guess that I'll be driving.

Finding the school is a surprisingly easy task. It isn't like the schools in Phoenix. It doesn't have security guards or metal detectors, which is quite a relief.

I park in front of the firs building, which is labelled 'FRONT OFFICE'. I figure this is a good place to start.

Leaving my toasty warm truck is hard, but the office is pleasantly warm. A red-head sits at the desk. It looks like she'd trying to act busy, but is failing.

Rica walks right up to the desk and coughs, gaining the woman's attention.

"How may I help you?" she asks in a slightly annoyed tone.

"I'm Federica Swan and this is my sister, Isabella Swan." Rica smiles at her and she seems instantly nicer.

"Oh, of course," she says. The woman digs through a pile of papers and produces class schedules. "This is yours," she says as she hands Rica a paper. "This is Isabella's." I take the paper and then she produces yet another paper. "Have your teachers sign this and return it at the end of the day."

"Thank you," we say in unison.

Embarrassed, I hurry out of the room. 'I hate it when we do that,' I tell Rica.

'I know, but I find it funny. I think it scares people.' Rica catches up with me and hands me a piece of paper. 'You forgot a map of the school. You would have been roaming around forever. We would have had to call dad to do a search for you.'

My face is beat red with embarrassment. 'I hate you.'

'No, my little sister loves me,' she says as we approach the door to the school.

'We're the same age.'

'No, I was born first.'

'How would you know?' I ask as we enter the building.

'Would you like to see the video of mom giving birth?'

'Gross! What the hell? Charlie recorded that?'

'No,' she says and I almost stop dead in my tracks. I glance at her and she's barely containing a laugh.

'Jerk,' I call her as we approach a room.

'I'm the jerk that helped you get to your first class without incident.'

I sigh and glance up at her. She has an annoying smirk on, but she is right. 'Thanks.' Rica is annoying sometimes, but she is right almost every time. Rica is very… she is always looking out for me.

Once inside the classroom, I hang my coat on the wall and look around for something to do. I notice my teacher, so I go and hand him my slip. He gives me a funny look, but sends me to a desk without incident.

Once at my desk, I study the reading list the teacher gave me. It is pretty basic: Bronte, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and Faulkner. We'd already done all these in Arizona.

'Seems pretty easy, right?' I ask Rica with a smirk. There is no response on the other end and I start to grow anxious. 'Rica, are you there?' I sit in my chair in complete silence and wait for her response. Rica doesn't respond before the class period ends and I decide not to push it. She'd probably busy.

When the bell rings, I see a boy approaching me. He has hair black as an oil slick and skin problems.

"You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?" he asks. I take a moment to assess him. He looks like the overly helpful, chess club type.

"I go by Bella," I correct him. As I speak, everyone within three desks of me turns to look at me.

"Where's your next class?" he asks.

'Government, with Jefferson, in building six,' a voice supplies helpfully.

'Oh, now you respond,' I tell her sourly. 'Thanks.'

"Government, with Jefferson, in building six," I inform him. I keep my eyes forward to avoid all of the curious gazes.

"I'm heading toward building four. I could show you the way." Definitely overly-helpful. "I'm Eric," he adds.

I smile at him and say, "Thanks."

'Aww, my little Bella is already making friends,' Rica teases me.

I ignore her and rise to get my coat. As we leave, we slip on rain coats, because the rain is just picking up.

"So, this is a lot different than Phoenix, huh?" he asks.

"Very," I say kind of dryly.

"It doesn't rain much there, does it?"

'We have a smart one here,' Rica comments.

I laugh a little and then respond with, "Three or four times a year."

"Wow, what that must be like," he wondered.

"Sunny," I supplied helpfully.

"You don't look very tan," he comments. Great, he manages to bring up the subject I don't want to touch on.

"My mother is part albino." It's a good come back. I managed to think of it last night.

He studies my face apprehensively, and I sigh. It looks like clouds and a sense of humor don't mix. A few months of this and I'd forget how to use sarcasm.

'Don't worry, I'll make sure that you keep your ability to use sarcasm,' Rica reassured me.

We walk back around the cafeteria, to the south buildings by the gym. Eric even walks me right to the door, though it is clearly marked.

"Well, good luck," he says as I touch the handle. "Maybe we'll have some other classes together." He sounds hopeful.

I manage to smile vaguely at him and go inside.

The rest of the morning passes really fast. It's mainly filled with chatting between Rica and I.

My Trigonometry teacher, Mr. Varner, who I would have hated anyways just because of the subject he teaches, was the only one who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself. I stammered, blushed, and tripped over my own two feet.

Rica said something witty and I told her something unpleasant.

After two classes, I start to recognize several of the faces in each class. There's always someone braver than the others who would introduce themselves and ask me questions about how I like Forks. I try to be diplomatic, but mostly I end up lying, a lot.

One girl sat next to me in both Trig and Spanish, and she is walking with me to the cafeteria for lunch. She's tiny, several inches shorter than my five feet four inches, but her wildly curly hair made up for the difference in our heights. I couldn't remember her name, so I smile and nod as she prattles about teachers and classes. I don't even bother trying to keep up.

We sit at the end of a large table. She introduces me to all her friends, but I forget all of their names as soon as they start to talk. They all seem to think that her bravery in talking to me is outstanding.

'Where are you?' I ask Rica impatiently, trying to look like I'm paying attention to the conversation at hand.

'Nowhere,' is the reply I get.

'Why don't you come and eat lunch with me?' I practically whine.

'I wouldn't want to get in between you and your friends,' she says sarcastically.

'I don't even know their names, so I hardly think they count as friends.'

'What class do you have next?'

She's not even trying to be subtle about subject change. 'Biology II.'

'Well, have fun with that. I'm going to gym.'

'Wait,' I try to say, but she cuts the connection in the middle of the conversation.

I sigh and try to pay attention to what the people next to me are saying, but I am failing miserably. That's why I notice them.

They are sitting in the opposite side of the cafeteria. There are five of them. They aren't talking, and they aren't eating although they have food in front of them.

There are three boys. One of them is big, like a professional weight lifter, with dark, curly hair. Another is tall, leaner, but still has a lot of muscles, plus, honey-blonde hair. The last is lanky, less bulky, with messy, bronze hair. He is distinctly younger looking than the other two, who actually look like they could be in college, or even teachers.

There girls are opposites. The tall one is statuesque. She has a beautiful figure, like a swimsuit model. Her beauty is the type that hits every girl in the room and lowers their self-esteem. Her hair is golden, like sunshine, and flows in gentle waves all the way down her back. The short girl reminds me of a pixie. She's thin to an extreme, with small features, and her hair is a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction.

They only thing they really have in common is their chalky pale skin, which is actually paler than mine. They also all have very dark eyes, and under those eyes are bruise like shadows. It looks like they haven't slept in a long time, or are just exhausted.

"Who are they?" I ask the girl from my Spanish class.

She looks up, but I have a feeling that she already knows who I'm talking about just by the tone of my voice. Just as she looks, the boy, the young looking one, looks up at her. His eyes are on her for only a second, but then they flicker to me. He immediately turns his eyes down and I flush in embarrassment.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one that left earlier was Alice Cullen. They all live together with Dr. Cullen." She says all this in one breath and I finally come around to remembering her name. She's Jessica.

"They are," I start, looking for the best way to say it, "very nice looking?" It comes out as more of a question than I'd hoped.

"Yes!" she agrees with a giggle. "They're all like together though. Emmett is with Rosalie, and Jasper is with Alice. And they live together." She voice is dripping with the shock and condemnation of a small town.

"Which ones are the Cullens?" I ask. "They don't look related."

"Oh, they're not. Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. They're all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins actually. They're the blonde ones, and they're foster children."

'If they're not related, why was she so offended that they're all together?' Rica growls in my head and I jump in shock. She must have been listening in earlier. Judgmental people really piss Rica off.

'Oh, now you say something,' I reply sourly.

"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" I found myself asking.

"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't even bother to date. Apparently, none of the girls here are up to his standards." I wonder when he turned her down.

I glance quickly at Edward and his face is turned away, but I swear his cheek is lifted, like he is smiling. I quickly look away and turn my attention back to Jessica and her friends. After a few minutes, the Cullens and the Hales get up and leave the cafeteria.

Shortly after, I start towards Biology II with Angela, who said she has Biology II with me. We walk in silence. She is really shy, too. We enter the classroom together and Angela goes to sit with someone else. In fact, I look around the room and there is only one seat open. In fact, that seat happens to be right next to Edward Cullen.

As I head towards the front of the room, I glance back at him and I can't help but to stare. His eyes are black, like coal.

Mr. Banner quickly signs my slip and hands me a book without bother to have me introduce myself to the class, which I am grateful for. He sends me to the only open seat, right next to Edward. As I sit, I can't help but to notice the death glares he seems to be sending me. As the minutes pass, I notice that he's leaning next to me. Do I smell bad?

'You smell like skunk,' Rica says and I scowl.

'You're nice as ever,' I comment and flip my hair over the left side of my face, creating a curtain between us.

'How are you supposed to eat him up with your eyes if you can't see him?' she asks. I quickly glance through my wall of hair and notice that he hasn't relaxed. 'Wow, are you making that face again and scaring him?'

'How do I know that you didn't do something and he's avoiding me because he thinks that I'm you?' I reply snappily.

'I got in a lot of trouble already. I walked right up to him and said, "Fuck you," to his face. Then, I repeatedly told the teacher to go screw himself.' I snort in laughter and immediately turn red. A few people turn and look at me, but quickly turn away. 'Now everyone thinks you're nuts.'

I ignore her comment and decide that it's best to listen to the teacher. Occasionally, I glance at Edward and throughout the entire class period, he never once relaxes. The moment the bell rings, he's out of his seat and out the door.

I am trying my best to keep myself from crying when I hear someone say, "Aren't you Isabella Swan?" I look up and see a cute, baby-face boy, with pale blond hair smiling at me.

"Bella," I correct him with a smile.

"I'm Mike," he introduces himself.

"Hi, Mike."

'Smooth,' Rica says and I ignore her.

"Do you need help finding your next class?" he offers helpfully.

"I'm heading to the gym, actually, and I think that I can find it." I am trying to politely reject him.

"That's my next class, too," he informs me in a thrilled tone.

As we walk to class, I discover that he is a chatter box. He supplies most of the conversation, which I'm grateful for. Surprisingly, he's the nicest person I've met today.

As we enter the gym, he asks, "So, did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil or something? I've never seen him act like that."

Thank god I'm not the only one that noticed. "Was that the boy I sat next to in Biology?" I ask faking ignorance.

"Yes," he says. "He looked like he was in pain or something."

"I don't think I made him mad," I say more sourly than I would have liked. "I never even talked to him."

"I guess he's just weird," Mike says. He lingers by me a bit before deciding it's best to head into the men's locker room. I head quickly into the women's locker room and look for Couch Clapp, who supplies me with a uniform.

Gym passes fairly quickly without incident and I say a silent thank you as soon as I'm heading to the office.

'I'm surprised you didn't hurt someone,' Rica comments as we head towards the office.

'Me too,' I say as we enter the room. I almost turn around right away.

Edward Cullen stands at the front desk. He doesn't appear to notice our entrance, so we stand towards the back of the room.

'He seems to be having trouble,' Rica comments dryly.

He's trying to switch Biology… for any other time. Holy shit, this is about me!

'What did I do to him?' I say internally with a scowl.

'I don't know…' Rica says and she has a disturbed look on her face.

Rica sighs and Edwards head snaps towards us. He quickly turns away and mutters something to the receptionist and hurries out the door. Rica and I approach the desk and hand her our slips.

"How did your first day go?" she asks.

"Fine," we answer at the same time and I mentally face palm. Why did we have to do it again?

We are sent on our way and I practically run back to the truck. I turn the key and wait for Rica to get in. Then, I take off out of the parking lot as fast as I can.


	2. Secrets - Federica

'I'm surprised you didn't hurt someone,' I tease Bella.

'Me too,' she replies and I laugh a little.

As we walk in, I notice something interesting. Edward Cullen is standing at the front desk. Quickly, I make it so that he forgets that we have walked into the room.

'He seems to be having trouble,' I comment to Bella.

He's trying to switch classes, Biology to be specific. Is he trying to avoid Bella? I dig in to decide why he is avoiding her, and as soon as I discover the reason, I bury it deep in my mind. Why did this have to happen here? What were the odds?

'What did I do to him?' Bella asks.

'I don't know…' I say, even though I know the reason.

I decide to speed things up and let out a sigh. Edward's head snaps around and he gives us a surprised look. He quickly turns away and apologizes to the receptionist. Next, he hurries out the door. How interesting.

"How did your first day go?" she asks as we hand her our slips.

"Fine," we answer at the same time and I smile. I love that we do that.

Bella storms out of the room as soon as she deems the conversation over. The Edward thing must be really getting to her. She's in the front seat and as soon as I'm in the vehicle, she throws it into reverse. Quickly, I calm her down and her driving gets considerably less scary.

"Bella, just pretend that didn't happen," I tell her.

"How can I?" she replies angrily. "I don't get how I managed to piss someone off so fast without even talking to them!"

I sigh and say, "He isn't mad about you, so just calm down." Then I notice a gas station and say, "Can you stop at the gas station?" She looks confused, but pulls into the gas station anyways. "Thanks. I'll be right back." I hurry into the gas station and buy two cappuccinos. I get back into the car and order, "Drink this." Bella takes the cup and drinks it really fast, faster than she should have. "Better?"

"Yes, thank you," she says.

"Can I trust you to get home by yourself?" I ask.

"Of course, I'm fine now," she says as she starts to drive out of the gas station. "Where do you want me to drop you off?"

"My friends," I lie, "should be waiting for me at the cemetery."

"Odd place to meet up, but whatever," she says as she heads towards the cemetery.

As soon as we're at our destination, I jump out and say, "Thank you."

"Be careful," she says as she eyes the cemetery. "Don't get kidnapped before your friends show up."

I roll my eyes and reply, "Don't worry. I don't think there's someone out there stupid enough to try and kidnap me." I close the door and watch as Bella pulls away. I slip on huge sunglasses to hide my face. After a few minutes, my 'friends' show up. One of them is in a bright red mustang with white stripes and the other in a sleek black car, which is most likely foreign. They have good taste.

"Brown Locks?" the man asks as he approaches me.

"Grey Wolf," I reply. Looks like the right person to me. I walk past him and up to the mustang, which I am receiving as payment. I inspect it carefully. No scratches or wear of any kind so I'm pleased. I open the door and take time to inspect the interior. There's no tearing on the seats and it smells brand new. After inspection, I determine that they did a very good job on it.

"How's it look?" he asks nervously.

I pull out a cigarette and light it up. After taking a long drag, I reply, "It looks good so far. I want to get a look under the hood." Grey Wolf opens the hood and I take my time inspecting. I close the hood and say, "Looks good to me. Do you have the rest of the payment?"

"Of course," he says with a smile and opens the trunk. Inside is a duffel bag with a lot of money in it. I grab the bag and open it up to reveal cash. Carefully I count the stacks of hundreds. All together there is about quarter of a million in hundreds. Exactly how I asked for it.

"I trust that the rest will be wired over to me?" I ask.

"Of course, the boss wouldn't dare screw you over," he answers politely.

"Good," I say and finish up my cigarette. "Now, you'll forget this meeting ever happened?" Grey Wolf nodded and so did the person in the car. "Good, and don't you ever contact me again unless it's a job that's worth quite a bit. I'm done doing measly jobs. It's not worth the risk anymore."

"Fine," he says and walks away. "The boss also wanted me to give you this." He walks back and hands me a black box. I open it and inside are the most beautiful earrings I've ever seen and a matching necklace. "He said that it's a personal thank you. I don't know what for."

I smile and say, "Don't worry; I know exactly what they're for." Let's say I helped get the boss and his wife back together. No doubt this was his personal thank you for that.

Grey Wolf walked back to the black car and left as quickly as he could. I sat there a few more minutes and stared at the road. I finished up the cigarette and threw it down. After stepping on it, I got into my new mustang and took off.

As I drive home, I try to decide what excuse I'm going to use on my dad. He's a cop so he will probably be really suspicious. I guess I could just 'convince' him where I got it, but I don't really want to use that on my dad. It would just feel wrong. I hardly think that he would even be able to figure out the truth though.

I pull into the driveway and internally groan. Dad is home. Great, this is going to be fun to explain.

"Where have you been?" he asks as soon as I'm in the door. "And where did you get that car?"

"I was hanging out with some friends," I lie. "As for the car, my rich friend sold it to me pretty cheap," I lie again.

Dad is about ready to protest or something when I decide that I really don't want to deal with him and just convince him that that's where I got it from. "Oh, ok," he says and walks to the kitchen.

"What do you want me to make for supper?" I ask as I open the fridge.

"I don't know. You'll have to make do with whatever you find in there."

One look in the fridge tells me that I don't have a lot to work with. "Ok, I guess we're having hamburgers," I say. Bella and I would so have to go to the store tomorrow after school, I decide.

'Bella, are you going to join us?' I ask as I finish making the hamburgers.

'Ya, I'll be right down,' she responds and I serve Dad his burger.

Bella enters the kitchen and I hand her a plate. We all sat in silence as we eat our meals.

'So, where's your car?' Bella asks as soon as we're done eating.

'Come, I'll show you,' I say as I stand up and walk out of the house.

'Holy shit," Bella says as she runs to it. 'This is amazing. It's so pretty!'

'I figured you'd like it,' I say with a laugh. 'Like it better than your truck?'

'I have to admit that it's prettier than my truck, but my truck is also me. This is just… you.'

'Does this mean you think sexy?' I ask with a smirk.

'Have you seen yourself?' she responds.

'I can't tell if you're insulting or complementing me,' I reply with a frown.

'Definitely a complement,' Bella replies.

'Well, thank you.'

We head back into the house and I return to the basement. I fall down on the bed and am asleep in seconds.


	3. Open Book - Bella

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella and Edward talk for the first time.

The next day is better… and worse.

Better because at least it isn't raining. It is also easier, because now I know my way around the school and what to expect.

Mike sits by me in English and walks me to my next class. Eric glares at him all the while with jealousy, how flattering.

It is worse, because I am tired. It is miserable when we have to play volleyball and I accidentally injure my teammate.

'Nice going,' Rica says and I reply with something nasty.

But it's worse of all because Edward Cullen isn't in school.

All morning I fear his deadly glares. Part of me wants to confront him, but my resolve slowly dies out and diminishes completely when he isn't there. This gives me a little more confidence as I stroll into Biology.

Mike follows me to my desk like faithful golden retriever. To be honest, he is starting to make me really uncomfortable. I want to do something about it, but I don't want to risk making anyone mad. Diplomacy is essential to living in a small town. Rica offers to take care of it for me, but I turn her down. It's my mess to eventually sort out.

I like having the desk to myself, I keep telling myself, but I just can't shake the suspicion that I am the reason for him absence. The nagging suspicion bites at my stomach.

After the blush fades from gym, I get out of school and head for home. Rica is shopping for food since we learned that Charlie can't cook. I decide to take the time to check my emails. I groan at the emails from my mom.

" _Bella_ ," my mom writes.

" _Write me as soon as you get in. Tell me how your flight was. Is it raining? I miss you already. I'm almost done packing, but I can't find my pink blouse. Do you know where I put it? –Mom_ "

I sigh and go to the next one. It was sent eight hours after the first one.

" _Bella_ ," she writes.

" _Why haven't you emailed me yet? What are you waiting for? – Mom_ "

The last one is from this morning.

" _Isabella,_

 _If I haven't' heard from you by 5:30 pm today, I will call Charlie._ "

I quickly check the clock. I still have an hour, but my mom will jump the gun. She's quite well known for that.

" _Mom,_

_Everything is great. It's almost always raining. I was so busy from getting to school and everything to check my email._

_Your blouse is at the dry cleaners. You were supposed to pick it up Friday._

_Charlie bought us a truck and I love it. Well, really it's my truck now. Rica bought herself a car._

_I miss you so much. I'll write you again soon, but I won't check my email every five minutes. I love you._

_\- Bella_ "

I pull out my worn copy of Wurthering Heights and decide that I'll reread it for English class. That's what I'm doing when Charlie gets home. I set the book down and head downstairs.

As I walk down the stairs, I hear Charlie ask, "What are you making?"

"Well, I am getting ready to put steaks in the oven. I was going to make mashed potatoes as a side dish," Rica informs him.

Renée is a creative cook, so no doubt he is scared that Rica has taken after our mother. Surprisingly, we have been given the gift of being able to cook. Rica is actually a way better cook than I. I dare to say that Rica is almost at the professional level.

"Are you making them with that sauce?" I ask as I walk into the kitchen.

"Yes," she answers and Charlie looks confused and slightly scared.

"Don't worry, Dad; Rica is a fantastic cook." Charlie visibly relaxes and I manage not to laugh at him. "Anyone else want a salad?"

"Umm, no thank you," Rica says.

"Sure," Charlie says and he sits at the table. I quickly make up the salads and set the table. Just as we finish our salads, the steaks are done. Charlie sniffs the air and says, "That smells good, Rica."

"Thanks," she says as she serves us our food. She pours plenty of sauce over the steak and I'm practically drooling.

As I start devouring the food, Rica laughs and asks, "Is it really that good?"

"Yes," Charlie answers before I can and he looks slightly embarrassed.

"That's good to hear," Rica says as she continues eating.

Silence settles over us only to be broke by Charlie asking, "Bella how is school? Have you made any friends?"

"There's a girl named Jessica that is in a couple of my classes. We usually eat lunch together with her friends. There is also a guy named Mike. Everyone is really nice." With one very attractive exception.

"You must be talking about Mike Newton. He's a nice kid. His parents own a sporting goods store on the edge of town."

"Do you know the Cullen family?" I ask hesitantly.

"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen is a great man."

"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in at school."

Charlie surprises me with the angry look on his face. "People in this town need to stop being so judgemental. Dr. Cullen is a great man and brilliant surgeon. He could be working anywhere else in the world, probably making ten times his salary here, maybe even more, but he chooses to stay here. The town is lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town." His voice grew considerably louder as he talks and to be honest, I was a little scared. "As for their kids, I had some doubts when they first came, but we've never had any problems with them. They're probably the most well-mannered kids I'd ever met."

That has to be the most I've ever heard Charlie say and I am quite shocked. I glance over at Rica and she's staring at him in shock.

"They seem nice to me," I say trying to save myself. "I just noticed that they keep to themselves and they're very good looking." I try to make the last part sound complementary, so Charlie won't be as mad.

"You should see Dr. Cullen," Charlie says with a laugh. "We're just luck he's happily married. Otherwise, those nurses wouldn't be able to keep their hands off of him."

We awkwardly lapse back into silence and when we're done eating, I head upstairs. Soon enough, I fall into a peaceful sleep.

The week passed uneventfully, and I think that now I know the names of almost everyone in Forks High School. As I head into the building Monday morning, everyone says hi to me and I say hi back.

Our English teacher hands out our first pop quiz on Wurthering Heights. As I read through it, I discover that it is incredibly easy. I finish it and glance up at the time; I finished it in less than five minutes.

As we walk out of English, snow falls onto my face and I grimace. "Ew," I mutter in disgust.

Mike looks at me confused and asks, "You don't like snow?"

"No," I reply and brush the snow off my face.

Mike looks at me baffled before he gets nailed in the back of the head with a snowball. He bends down and makes a ball. "I'll see you at lunch," he says right before running off to fight with the rest of them.

I walk to lunch with Jessica and Mike meets us in line. There's fresh snow melting in his hair. We are discussing snowball fights and revenge when I notice that five people at the Cullen table. I freeze in shock.

"Bella are you going to get something?" Jessica asks and tugs on my shoulder.

Mike looks concerned and asks, "What's wrong?"

I snap out of my daze and say, "I'm not feeling well." I grab a soda. "I'll just have this."

We walk back to our table and sit down. I sip on my soda and decide to sneak a peek at the Cullens. There was something different I decide on first glance, particularly with Edward. His skin seems less pale and the bags under his eyes less noticeable, but there's also something else.

I'm trying to figure this out when Jessica breaks my chain of thought by asking, "Bella, what are you staring at?"

At that moment, his eyes flashed to mine and I looked down as quickly as I could. Our eyes had most definitely met. At least he didn't look mad I decide to make the blush lessen.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggles in my ear.

"D-does he look angry?" I stutter.

"No," Jessica answers with a confused look. "Should he?"

"I don't think he likes me?" I admit with shame.

"Well, the Cullens don't like anyone; more like they don't notice anymore to get to like them." She sighs. "He's still staring by the way."

"Quit looking his way," I hiss at her.

She laughs at me, but she obeys. Mike asks about us joining a huge snowball fight after school. Jessica immediately agrees, although I think she'd agree to anything Mike says. I politely decline.

As Mike and I walk to Biology, we discover that it's raining, which effectively wipes away all traces of snow much to everyone's disappointment. Mike keeps up a string of complaints as we walk into Biology and I take notice that the table is empty. I sit down in my chair and start doodling in my note book since there are still a few minutes until class. Mr. Banner hands out slides and microscopes.

I hear the chair next to slide and I try to keep from tensing up.

"Hello," says a quiet, musical voice. "My name is Edward Cullen. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."

'Is this really happening?' I ask Rica.

'Yes, but you better answer or he'll think you're crazy,' she replies.

"How do you know my name?" I ask in confusion. Oh my god, I must seem stupid to him now.

"I think everyone knows your name," he replies.

"That's not what I meant. Why did you call me Bella?"

"Do you prefer Isabella?" he asks confused.

"No, I just would have thought that Charlie would have been talking about me and referring to me as Isabella, and I figured everyone here would have been referring to me as Isabella too."

"Oh," he says awkwardly and turns towards the front of the room.

'Way to make it awkward, Bella,' Rica teases me.

'Shush you,' I reply sourly.

The teacher finishes handing out slides and returns to the front of the room. "Start," he orders.

"Ladies first," Edward suggests.

"Or I could start," I reply and he looks at me with a lost look.

'Does no one here have a sense of humor?' Rica asks.

'I guess not,' I reply grumpily. I think that was a pretty good joke for me. "I'll start." I slip the slide under the microscope and quickly adjust it. It's prophase I decide. "Prophase," I tell him as I write down the answer."

"Do you mind if I check?" he asks as he points to the microscope.

"Uh… sure," I reply.

'Wow, you're right by the way,' Rica says.

"Prophase," he agrees after barely even looking at it. He switches the slides and then glances at it. "Anaphase," he declares with confidence.

"Ok," I mumble as I start to switch slides. He looks at me with confusion. "What? I'm not supposed to trust your judgment?"

Edward looks at me awkwardly and says, "No, it's perfectly fine."

I glance down the microscope and say, "Interphase." Edward writes down the answer without questioning me. Edward replaces the slide and simply writes down the answer.

"So, did you get contacts?" I ask casually.

'Wrong thing to ask,' Rica comments softly.

"No," Edward replies. "Why?"

"Your eyes have changed colour," I say quietly.

"Oh," he says.

'Wow Bella, you just had to ask something like that,' Rica says.

"That's pretty unusual," I say, trying to save myself. "One of my sister's old friends had eyes that changed colour a lot. It was different almost every day."

'You didn't just say that!' Rica yells at me mentally.

"That's cool. I had a friend like that too." Edward smirks at me. "What was her name? Maybe we knew the same person."

'Don't you dare tell him her name!' Rica shouts at me.

'Why?' I reply with. Rica grows quiet, so I figure she has given up. "If I remember correctly, her name is Renata."

Edward's smile falters, but only for a second. "I don't think we know the same person." He pauses for a moment and then asks, "What's your sister's name? I didn't know you had one."

"Federica, but everyone calls her Rica," I tell him. "She looks a lot like me. Her hair is about the same colour as mine, but it's shorter and layered. Her eyes are a pale blue. She's actually a lot taller than me. Actually, she's about 5' 9"."

"I think I've seen her around the school," Edward replies after a moment. "Oh, she's in my calculus and Spanish class. She's one of Mrs. Goff's favorite students."

"How does she do in Spanish class?" I ask. Conversations are good.

"It's quite amazing," he says. "She's fluent in Spanish and other languages. Mrs. Goff and she often have conversations in Spanish. It confuses the rest of the class, which is pretty funny."

"That sounds like her," I say with a laugh.

"Emmett doesn't know French, so when they switch to French, he always gets really confused and frustrated. It's quite entertaining."

"Sounds funny," I say with a smile.

Mr. Banner comes up to us with a grumpy look on his face. "Is there a reason you are not working?" he asks.

"We're done," Edward answers smoothly.

Mr. Banner takes our papers and looks over our answers. "You could have let Bella answer some."

"Actually, she answered half of them," Edward informs him.

Mr. Banner looked at me skeptically. "Have you done this before?" he asks.

I blush and tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "Not with onion root."

"Whitefish blastula?" he asked and I nod. "You were in an advanced placement class?" I nod sheepishly. "Well, I guess it is good you two are partners I guess."

He turns to walk away, but I stop him by saying, "Do you have a doctorate?"

His face is slightly confused, but answers, "Yes. Why?"

"Can I call you Dr. Banner?" I ask, barely restraining a laugh.

He lets the joke sink and gives a little laugh. "Yes you can."

As he walks away, Edward lets out a laugh and says, "He really liked that joke."

"You think?"

"Ya. It was pretty good." Edward looks at me and I blush a darker shade of red. "What's wrong?" he asks politely.

"I'm sorry. I feel like such an open book."

"You're not at all," Edward says and I burrow my brows. "I think I'm quite good at reading people, but I can't quite seem to read you."

"That's nice of you to say that," I say quietly.

Edward smiles at me and then lapses into silence, which remains until the bell rings. He rises and says a quick, "Goodbye," before leaving.

As I gather my stuff, Mike dances to my side and starts to complain about the lab being hard.

"I thought it was quite easy," I say to tease him. "I've done it before."

"Your partner seemed friendly enough today," he comments.

"He was perfectly friend," I reply. "I wonder why he was so unfriendly Monday."

"Maybe he was having bad day," Mike replies.

I tune Mike out as we walk towards the gym. In fact, I tune him out for the rest of the day.


	4. Sisterly Bonds - Federica

Third day at school and Edward Cullen isn’t there. I know why instantly. He was afraid of himself last time I’d seen him. Bella sang to him. I personally don’t blame him for running. That’s what any sane person… or sane vampire would do. It’s a shame though. There were sparks between the two of them. Anyone that had seen them two next to each other knew this. It wasn’t hard to see.

I walk into Spanish class and Emmett Cullen’s eyes instantly fly to me. His first thoughts are of suspicion as he looks at me. So, he can tell that I have powers too. He’s around people with powers on a daily basis so he shouldn’t be too shocked. Well, they’re vampires too, so I guess it would be strange to meet a human with powers.

His second thought is of Edward. So the little shit has run away to Alaska of all places. He ran from Bella and the way her blood sings to him. I suppose that it’s only right. Even if there were sparks, I can’t expect the lion and the lamb to grow fond of each other.

Instead of taking my normal seat next to Edward, I take Edward’s seat next to Emmett who looks surprised and scared. He doesn’t move at first. Actually, he’s deathly still; too still.

“So, Emmett,” I say and watch his face. He doesn’t know how to respond. His thoughts are scattered and jumbled. “It would help if you would collect your thoughts,” I say and smile deviously at him. His thoughts turn to swears and I laugh.

“What are you?” he asks in a low tone. He isn’t sure about me anymore. It is frightening him.

“Me?” I ask with fake innocence. “I’m just your normal high school student.” I smile innocently and he swallows. “What?”

“Don’t play innocent,” he says. “I know that you’re not normal. All of us can tell that something is off about you.”

“Well, I guess you’re not as stupid as everyone else in this school,” I reply and smirk at him. This makes him furrow his eyebrows but inside he’s really entertained.

“Sit with us at lunch tomorrow and we’ll discuss this,” Emmett replies to my surprise. He doesn’t want to talk about this now.

“Sounds good,” I say and turn my attention towards the teacher.

~~~

I walk into the lunch room and Bella’s eyes instantly fly to me. As I gather my lunch, she prods me with questions that I don’t want to answer. She’s not used to seeing me during school.

All eyes are on me as I take a seat at the Cullen’s table. Emmett smiles; he didn’t think that I would actually do it. Alice is confused, but she doesn’t let it show. Jasper lets his confusion show clear as day and Rosalie glares at me. She thinks I’m making a move on her precious Emmett.

“Calm down, Princess,” I say to her. “Emmett invited me to sit here because I have important matters to discuss with the four of you. I’m not trying to make a move on him,” I inform her calmly and take a bite of my food.

Alice tries to restrain a smile. Just with those sentences I’ve won her over. She thinks that I’m funny. Jasper is still unsure. Rosalie is now embarrassed and mad. Emmett thinks that it was entertaining.

“What did you want to talk about?” Alice asks with her attention fully on me. She’s smiling at me and I decide that I like her the best out of all of them.

“Edward,” I say and take a bite of my apple. “Can you try and get him to come back?” I ask and everyone at the table instantly goes nuts with thoughts. “I know you’ve tried, but he has to come back.”

“Why are you so concerned with him?” Rosalie asks defensively. “I don’t think you need to be poking your head into our business.”

“I guess that’s true,” I admit, “but it’s my sister that he’s hurting.” Alice smirks. She already knows the future that lies ahead.

“How is he hurting your sister?” Rosalie asks in an offended tone. Really, if I weren’t trying to do this peacefully, I would have punched her by now, which probably wouldn’t be the best course of action (broken fist).

“Edward and Bella danced around each other,” I say. “Alice, you know what I’m talking about.” Alice smiles like she doesn’t know what I’m talking about.

“I don’t think you know what you’re talking about,” Rosalie says and I snap.

“Rosalie, can you not be so stuck up for a while?” I ask and she thinks something nasty about me. “I’m trying to employ your help. Is that so much to ask? I think it will benefit both our parties.”

Rosalie looks about ready to cuss me out, but Alice stops her by saying, “Rosalie, Rica is right. We have to do everything in our power to get Edward back here.”

“Thank you,” I say. “You know your brother is lonely and he was obviously interested in my sister.” Rosalie still doesn’t ease up her opinion of me. “What I’m saying is that we should get the two of them together.”

“I like this idea,” Emmett says and Jasper nods in agreement. “Edward has been in need of a distraction.”

Alice looks me in the eye and smiles at me. “Rica, feel free to join us at lunch again tomorrow,” she says much to my surprise. I didn’t think that I would get an offer like that.

“Yes,” Jasper says. “You add a new life to our table.” He looks at Rosalie and smiles. He’s using his powers to calm her down. She’s going to be pissed off as soon as she’s out of his range and the effect wears off.

“Thank you,” I say and smile genuinely at them. It isn’t very often that I can actually find people that I would like to talk to or even hang out with. Hopefully it’ll be a nice change of pace. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. I’m going to go get ready for class.”

I get up and start to walk away. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett actually wanted me to join them tomorrow while Rosalie was still being hostile towards me. I was quite thankful that Jasper had calmed her down. That situation could have ended very badly. The chances that someone would have lost memories are high.

Now, we just had to wait until Edward came back.

~~~

It took longer than I would have thought to get Edward back to school. It had taken almost a week of convincing, which he had mainly done himself. At one point, he’d turned off his phone so no one could call him. He figured this was a problem he would have to face himself.

When I walk into Lunch, Edward is sitting in a different seat, which throws me off. I guess Emmett requested a seat change so we could sit next to each other. The past week I’d been taking Edward’s seat and Emmett and I had developed a friendship of sorts. Rosalie had calmed down a bit and was being friendly towards me.

“Edward,” I say as I sit down. “It’s nice to have you back in school.”

“Don’t poke the bear,” Emmett warns me with a grin. “He’s still fretting over what he’s going to do about Bella.”

“Interesting,” I say and turn to him. His face is hard and he’s trying his best not to look at me. He’s uncomfortable around people that can see his thoughts. “Oh, don’t worry, if you don’t want me reading your thoughts, all you have to do is ask.”

“Wait, so I can ask you not to read my thoughts?” Emmett asks.

“No, I was only extending the offer to Edward,” I reply and smile at him. Alice giggles and pretends to eat her food. “So, how is Mr. Cullen?”

Edward smiles like he’s amused. “You know, the past few classes that I’ve had with you, I couldn’t read your mind. I wonder why that is.”

“It’s probably because I was linking my mind with Bella’s,” I explain. “I know about her abilities. When I link my mind to her, it also protects my mind in the same way it does hers. That’s why you can read my mind now, but now earlier when I was talking to her in first period.”

Edward’s smile doesn’t change. He’s still amused. “That’s just my theory though.”

“Theory,” he says and laughs. “Sounds more like you’ve thought about it a lot.”

“Since we got back and I discovered your little secret, I’ve constantly been thinking of it,” I reply. “I’ve constantly been thinking about it since fourteen.”

“How long have you known about us?” Jasper asks and I grimace.

“Longer than I should have,” I reply.

“How did you find out about us?” Rosalie asks and I refrain from answering. I clear my mind so Edward can’t read it. It’s something I’ve been practicing how to do for a long time.

“You don’t even need Bella’s help to shield your mind from me. You’ve had a lot of practice preparing against us,” Edward says with hardened eyes.

“I wouldn’t say it was to prepare against you,” I say. “It was more like incase I met you.”

“I don’t understand,” Edward asks in a confused tone. “How could you have known about us and our powers?”

“You won’t know until you figure out what my own powers are,” I reply slyly. “Anyways, I think a subject change is in order.” I slip my mind into Bella’s so that Edward can’t listen in anymore and I’m free to think.

A subject change would be a welcome. I don’t want to continue this conversation. I haven’t talked to anyone about what happened with the Blacks when I was fourteen; not even my sister. Well, there is one exception to that. The only person that knows what happened with theBlacks is the same person that taught me to control the gift I was given.

“I think it’s supposed to snow tomorrow,” Emmett says in a hopeful tone. “You guys up for a snowball fight after school tomorrow?” Everyone nods and Emmett looks to me. “I don’t think you can come,” he says.

“Why, don’t think I can hold my own?” I ask in an offended tone. Honestly, he underestimates me. With my powers, I could seriously mess with their heads. Plus, it would be a nice exercise to see exactly how well I could use my powers.

“No,” Edward replies.

“Geez, no faith in me,” I say with feigned hurt. “Can I just come and watch then? It’ll be more interesting that way.” I smile evilly. They have no idea what I’m going to do to them.

“That smile scares me,” Rosalie admits, “but I want to see what you can do. As long as you stay out of our way, you can come.”

“Oh wow, an invitation from the Princess. This really is an occasion,” I say and Rosalie growls at me. “Okay, I won’t call you Princess anymore. I’ll think of something way worse.” I smile innocently and Alice giggles.

“I’ll have to come up with one just as bad for you,” Rosalie replies.

Edward glances up at the clock. “Come on guys, it’s almost time for class. We better get going.”

We all nod and rise from the table. From across the room, I can see Bella staring at me with a confused look in her eyes. I should explain what’s going on, but I don’t think I could right now.

~~~

When I walk into Spanish, Edward is sitting in my seat. I guess I’m sitting between them… again.

“Hello,” I say as I sit down. “I don’t think I’ve seen you two around school before.” Emmett and Edward smile at me as I sit. “What’s on the agenda for Spanish today?” I ask as I take out my notebook.

“Probably nothing,” Edward replies. “It’s not like we need to pay attention.”

“I almost feel like skipping this class,” I say with a yawn. “I think I’m going to start on our end of the year essay.” It would be good to get a head start on it.

“What are you going to write about?” Emmett asks as he peers at my notebook, which is blank.

“Vampires,” I reply and smirk at him. Edward frowns and I giggle. “Or, I could write it on werewolves and shape shifters.”

“I was excited when I heard that we were doing an open essay for the last assignment,” Edward says, “but now I’m scared.”

“I was just kidding,” I admit. “I just wanted to see if you two would freak out.” I smile. “So, how did Biology go?”

“Better than I thought it would,” Edward confesses. “You came up in our conversation, but I figure that you already know that.”

“Yes,” I mumble and try not to think about what Bella told him about Renata. They don’t need to know about my affiliations with her.

“So, you have friends with changing eye colours,” Edward comments.

“Yes, they go by the Cullens and the Hales,” I reply casually.

“Oh, but one of them isn’t part of our family. One of them is named Renata,” Edward pushes.

“Wait, she knows Renata?” Emmett asks and I frown.

“Yes,” I reply. “She’s more or less my best friend.” It’s actually the truth. Renata was my best friend.

“How did you meet her?” Edward asks and I bite my tongue. I shouldn’t have fed them information. Now they’ll want more.

“Coincidence,” I reply. “She’s just someone I happened to meet. Just like how I happened to meet you guys.”

Edward smiles but doesn’t push the subject. He’s gotten enough information out of me today to be satisfied for a while. Mrs. Goff starts the class and I turn my attention to her.

With the rising tensions, I’ll have to keep my secrets safe guarded. There are only three people in this world I can trust. That would be Bella, Dr. Cullen, and him.


	5. Phenomenon - Bella

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, after an almost two year absence, I have updated. I honestly didn't think I would ever get back to this story, but I just happened to deal with a really hard break up and needed a way to escape. Thank you to anyone that reads this and gives it a shot.

When I wake up, I know something is different. There’s something in the air; I can feel it. When I look out my window, I discover that the sky is clearer than the previous days, but I groan when I see the ground. Covering the ground below my window is a thin layer of snow. The worst part was, the rain from yesterday had frozen and everything was slick; it was dangerous.

I head downstairs and I hear the noise of breakfast hitting the table.

“Rica,” I say as I enter the kitchen. She’s made us pancakes.

“Dad went to work already,” she replies as if reading my mind. “He took his breakfast to go. He told me to tell you good luck at school today.”

“Geez, he makes it sound like I have some sort of trouble at school,” I say as I take a seat.

“No, he looked at the ice when he said that,” Rica says with a devious smirk.

“You two are horrible,” I say as I pour syrup on my pancakes. “I will probably need help getting to my truck without falling down.” I shove a large amount of pancake in my mouth and smile up at Rica who is shaking her head.

“You’re going to be helpless when you’re old,” Rica responds and she cleans up the mess she created while making breakfast.

I shove more pancakes in my mouth and roll my eyes are her. “I’ll grow up when I’m older,” I mumble after swallowing my food. “What are we doing after school?”

“I think I’m participating in a snowball fight,” Rica replies.

“A snowball fight with who?” I ask.

“The Cullens,” she replies as she starts to wash the pan in the sink. “That’s where I was yesterday too.”

“Oh,” I say. “Are you good friends with them or something?” I ask awkwardly. She has been hanging out with them quite a bit lately, but I’ve been trying to pay no mind to it. It isn’t my business who she hangs out with but this burns me with curiosity.

“Something like that I guess,” Rica replies.

I decide not to push the subject and instead work on finishing my breakfast. Rica can have any friends that she wants. I don’t have time to worry about who she’s hanging out with. I have problems of my own and they come in the form of Edward Cullen.

As I chew my food, I can’t help but to let my mind wander to him. There are many things that I want to know about him. I guess this is the first time I’ve ever… well… had a crush on a guy. I don’t want to think about the fact that he’s out of my league though, so I think about his eyes. Why would he lie to me about them? Maybe he’s shy about that. I mean, Renata was very open about her eye colour, but that doesn’t mean he is. There are many differences between people; even twins.

“Are you ready?” Rica asks as I finish my food. “I want to follow you to school to make sure that you don’t get into an accident.”

“Very funny,” I mumble sarcastically. “I have to grab my backpack and then I’m ready.”

“It’s hanging next to the door,” she replies as I get up to retrieve it from the living room.

“I knew that,” I say.

“No you don’t because I moved it this morning so you could grab it and go,” Rica replies with a smirk on her face. She is almost always thinking ahead. It surprises me sometimes even though I’m used to it.

“Thanks,” I reply as I grab my backpack and head out the door. I head towards my truck and I almost fall flay on my ass right away, but strong arms slip under me and catch me. “Thanks Rica.”

“Don’t thank me yet, you still have to get to your truck,” she says and I flip her off. “What was that? You want me to drop you?”

“No!” I yell as I stand up. “I can make it to my truck I think,” I say as I start off towards my truck. After a couple well positioned steps, I latch my hands onto the mirror and lift myself into my truck.

“You made it!” Rica yells as she claps her hands. I frown at her and start my truck before carefully pulling out of the driveway. At the same time, Rica gets into her mustang and follows in suit.

On our way to school, all I can think about is Edward Cullen. I wish I could think of anything else. To be honest, he’s really the only reason that I’m even excited about going to school. The learning environment isn’t as stimulating as I would like. What else am I supposed to focus on?

I pull into the school parking lot and park my truck quickly. Slowly and carefully I get out of my truck. Something shiny glimmers out of the corner of my eye and I look down at my tires. In diamond patters are snow chains on my tires. It almost makes me choke. Charlie had to have done this to my truck. I wasn’t so used to people caring for me. Well, I was used to seeing Rica care for me, but we cared for each other in ways. We were sisters.

“Dad put those on this morning,” Rica says as she approaches me. “He did it while I was making breakfast. I don’t think he knew how to respond to your face when you saw them, so he left early.”

I smile a little before a screeching noise fills the air. I whip my head around and my face turns to pure horror just as everyone else’s did. Speeding towards me, sliding on the ice, is a van. I’m standing right in its path. The van is going to crush Rica and I right between my truck and the van.

My eyes wander quickly to Edward, who stands on the four rows down next to the school. His face matches the expression of everyone else in the parking lot.

I blink my eyes and before they open, I feel a hand wrap around me. Suddenly, I’m lying on the ground. Everything is a blur, but there’s a collision and my head hits the metal of my truck bed. Two sets of arms wrap around me and hold me close so that I’m completely protected. My eyes are squeezed shut so I can’t tell who it is. I figure that one of them is Rica, but I don’t know who the other one is.

Slowly, I open my eyes and look up into Edward’s gorgeous brown eyes. This is both the best and the worst thing I could have imagined that I would open my eyes to.

There’s a lot of screaming in the background that I didn’t notice before. I hear a couple of people yelling my name frantically. I ignore them and stare up at Edward.

“Bella, are you alright?” he asks in that musical voice.

“I’m fine,” I say and to pull away, but his arms are locked around me in an iron death lock.

“You shouldn’t move around too much,” he scolds me. “You hit your head pretty hard.”

My mind spins as a sharp pain goes through my head. I wince at the pain and bite my lip.

“Where’s Rica?” I ask.

The other pair of arms wrapped around me loosens a bit and I hear Rica say, “I’m right here.”

I look over my shoulder at her and her face is full of concern. “Are you okay?” I ask.

“I’m fine,” Rica says to my relief. “I didn’t hit my head unlike you.” Rica closes her eyes and sighs. “I just need a moment to calm down.”

“Don’t move!” someone yells to us.

“Someone get Tyler out of the van!” another person yells.

I try to sit up, but Edward wouldn’t let me. “You shouldn’t move around too much, Bella. You hit your head pretty hard. There’s a possibility that you have a concussion, so stay put for now.”

“But it’s cold,” I whine and Edward chuckles. “How did you get over here so fast?” I ask when I realize that he wasn’t over here before. Rica and I were standing alone. He was looking at us from across the parking lot. “You were across the parking lot.”

Edward’s expression hardens. “No I wasn’t,” he replies.

“Liar,” I say childishly. “I saw you all the way across the parking lot.”

“Bella, I was standing next to you the whole time. You, Rica, and I were talking about the chains on your tires. When the van came towards us, Rica and I grabbed a hold of you and moved us out of the way.

“No,” I say and set my jaw.

“Bella, you don’t remember him standing next to us?” Rica asks and I furrow my eye brows. Why is she covering for his lie? “If he wasn’t next to us, how would he have known that we were talking about the tire chains?” I purse my lips at Rica. She’s correct, but my mind is still objecting.

“I still refuse to believe that you were standing next to us,” I say stubbornly. “I don’t know why, but Rica is covering for you.” I stare up at Edward accusingly.

Edward sighs heavily and looks at Rica nervously. “I’ll explain later. Just trust me for now.”

“Fine,” I snap. 

* * *

 

It takes six EMTs and two teachers to sort out the whole van ordeal. They had made quick work in getting us out from between the van and the truck. Edward refuses to get on a stretcher, but makes sure that I am subjected to the torture and humiliation of being strapped down. Thankfully, Rica has to be strapped to a stretcher too. To top it all off, they fixed me up with a neck brace while the entire school watched. I could have died from embarrassment.

To make matters worse, Chief Swan arrived at the scene before I was safely away. “Bella!” I heard him shout in panic when he recognized me. My face went crimson and I wished to be anywhere else.

“I’m fine, Dad,” I say with a heavy sigh.

“We’re both fine,” Rica offers up and Charlie seems to relax at her reassurance, but he turns to the nearest EMT for official confirmation.

Annoyed, I tune him out and close my eyes tight so I don’t have to see all the people staring at Rica, Edward, and I. As I am being lifted, I briefly open my eyes and I catch a glimpse of Edward’s family, who stare at the three of us in a disapproving way from across the parking lot. I furrow my eyebrows. Aren’t they concerned about Edward’s health at all? I want to shrug, but I can’t. Maybe they have trouble showing emotion, I figure and drop the subject internally.

Naturally, the ambulances get a police escort to the hospital. I feel ridiculous the entire way and even more so as they’re unloading me. What makes it worse is when Edward simply glides through the doors to the hospital with no help at all. I grind my teeth together at the thought. The little shit isn’t getting doted upon like I am. He should be subjected to the same punishment.

They seal me off in the emergency room on one of many beds in a long line. A nurse takes my blood pressure and temperature, although I have no idea why.  When they leave I quickly take off the neck brace and throw it under the bed. I know I’m stubborn, but I don’t want to be any other way.

A noise gets my attention and I quickly turn my head towards the door. They bring in two more people; Rica and Tyler Crowley from my government class. Rica looks fine, but Tyler’s head is wrapped in bloodstained bandages. He looked a hundred times worse than I felt, which made me feel a bit of sympathy for him.

“Bella, I’m so sorry!” he shouts as soon as he gets the chance.

“I’m fine, Tyler. You look far worse off than me. Are you alright?” As we talk, the nurses begin to unwind his bandages and tend to the wounds.

He ignores my questions and begins to ramble. “I thought I was going to kill you! I was going too fast and I hit the ice wrong…”

“Don’t worry; you missed me.”

“How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…”

“Edward pulled us out of the way,” Rica chimes in. “We are lucky he was there.”

“Wait,” Tyler says in confusion, “what Edward?”

“Edward Cullen,” I reply, trying to sound convincing.

“Oh,” he says, shocked. “I didn’t even see him there. Everything just went so fast that I must have missed him. I’m glad he was there then if he saved you two.”

Rica looks offended that he implied that she needs to be saved, but she says nothing and continues to smile. A few minutes later and a nurse comes in. She’s not happy that I took off my neck brace, but I can’t find it within myself to care. She wheels me away and they take X-rays of my skull to make sure that there’s no damage to it. After, the wheel me back into the previous room where I make idle chat with Rica and Tyler.

There’s a knock on the door and my head snaps up. Standing in the doorway is Edward Cullen looking as stunning as ever. Tyler immediately starts apologizing to him and Edward simply stalls his speech by raising his hand.

“No blood, no foul,” he says, flashing a pearly white smile that blinds everyone in the room. Edward plops himself down on the edge of my bed and looks at me. “What’s the verdict?” he asks me.

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with me, but they won’t let me go,” I complain in a tone that comes off a little more whiney than I would have liked.

Edward is about to reply when the doctor comes waltzing in. The doctor is absolutely stunning. There’s almost no words to describe him. “Miss Swan, how are you feeling?” he says in a soft voice. There’s no doubt about it, this is Dr. Cullen. He’s just too much like Edward not to be Dr. Cullen.

“I’m fine,” I mumble and hope it’s the last time that I’ll have to hear the infernal question today.

“Your X-rays look perfectly fine,” he says and I breathe a sigh of relief. Even Rica looks calmer than before as I hear her sigh too. “I’m assuming you would like to leave now.”

“Please,” I practically beg.

“I guess it would be alright, although I must warn you. It looks as though the entire school is waiting for you in the waiting room.” Dr. Cullen smiles playfully at me.

I groan and Rica smiles. “I’m sure that you’d be able to find a way out for us without having to talk to anyone, right?”

“I’m sure that Edward can help you two find a way out,” he says and smiles at my sister.

“I actually would like to talk to you for a few minutes,” Rica says.

Dr. Cullen looks confused for a brief second, but quickly composes himself. “Sure. How about we take this to my office area?”

Rica nods and walks out the door with him. ‘Don’t worry, Bella. Edward will make sure that you’re alright. I’ll be back a little bit later.’

‘Are you going to tell me why you needed to talk to Dr. Cullen?’ I prod as Edward helps me out of bed.

‘Maybe someday,’ she replies before her end of the connection promptly cuts off.

I frown and stumble towards the door. There’s the ghost of a pounding in my head, which I know will probably get worse later today.

Sensing my pain, Edward says, “You should probably take some Tylenol. Should we stop and get some as I take you back to your house?”

“You’re going to take my back to my house?” I ask in disbelief. I can’t believe Charlie would trust anyone to take my home the hospital; especially after the fit he had earlier.

“I talked to your father before coming into the room,” Edward explains as if he could understand my disbelief. “He has a lot of reports to do back at the station, so I told him that I would make sure that both you and Federica make it back home safely.” Edward’s lips form a half smile. “Your father really admires my father so convincing him wasn’t terribly hard. Plus, I’m a good kid. He trusts me.”

“Sounds like Charlie,” I say and Edward and I sneak out of the hospital through some back entrance. Waiting outside is a shiny silver car.  “I don’t think it’s legal to park here,” I say and Edward shrugs in response.

“I got permission due to my passenger having a medical condition. She hit her head, so they didn’t want her to do a lot of walking,” Edward remarks sarcastically and I could practically punch his perfect jaw. He opens the passenger door and I slide in. The inside of his vehicle is nice and it feels almost like a brand new car. As Edward slides into the driver’s seat, I can see him tense up instantly when the door closes. Quickly, he starts the car and cracks the windows, but turns the heat up for me as I shiver.

“So, are you going to give me an explanation?” I ask quietly.

“What do you mean?” he replies innocently.

“I want you to tell me how you managed to get from one side of the parking lot over to where I was at,” I huff in annoyance. “I want you to explain to me how in the hell you were able to stop that van from squashing me.”

“Let me get this straight,” Edward starts, “you want to fabricate this story that I magically teleported across the parking lot and then shoved a moving van out of the way?” I nod. “You realize that no one will believe you, right?”

“Did it ever occur to you that I’m not planning on telling anyone?” I reply with annoyance.

Edward’s eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Then why does it matter whether or not I explain things to you?” he asks after a moment of silence.

I huff out a bit of laughter. “I want to know to satiate my curiosity mainly. Plus, I’m generally not the type of person to lie, because I’m not good at it, so I want to know why I’m supposed to cover your ass. Rica was willing to do it for some reason, so there must be a good one.”

“Can’t you just be grateful that you’re not dead and drop the subject?” Edward asks.

“Nope.”

Edward’s mouth stretches into a thin line and his eyes narrow. “Well, I hope you enjoy the disappointment that you’ll find with your lack of answers.”

I frown at him and he simply frowns back at me. Annoyed, I look away and stare out the window. It’s hard not to peek at Edward. It’s like trying not to peek at an angel. God, I really need to stop filling my mind with the thought of a guy. Maybe I should have tried dating back in Phoenix just to satisfy my curiosity.

We arrive at my house after a long awkward silence in which neither one of us will talk. I hop out of the car without another word to Edward and begin walking fast paced to my house. About halfway there, I feel my heel slip on the ice and I could practically curse this day into oblivion. As I fall, I flail my hands, trying to catch myself on something. My bottom hits the ground with a thud and I wince in pain.

There’s a chuckle behind me. “Can you avoid injury for a single evening?” Edward chuckles and extends me a hand to help me up.

I grasp it and ask, “Why are you even bothering to help me?”

As he pulls me up, he frowns. “I honestly don’t know,” he replies quietly.

“Well, when you figure yourself out will you explain yourself to me?” I ask. “Also, holy shit your hands are cold.” I pull his hand into mine and try to warm them up by rubbing them.

Edward laughs at my actions. “You’re fighting a losing battle,” he says as he pulls away from me. “I’ll see you at school,” he mumbles and walks back to get into his car. I think he’s going to pull away right away, but the tinted passenger window slowly rolls down. “Try to make it safely back to your house; no more accidents this time.”

Crimson tints my cheeks and Edward laughs before finally pulling away from my house. After standing around like a moron for a couple of minutes, I finally start towards my house, which I make it into without incident. Quickly, I rush up to my room and collapse on my bed.

Edward Cullen is a bit of a bastard, I decide, but he’s not a bad guy.


End file.
